Protection sidelined in rush to implement deterrence
The Australian Government’s interest in the refugee protection measures recommended by the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers has not matched its haste to implement the Panel’s recommendations on deterrence, the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) says. RCOA CEO Paul Power said that the political debate and the activity within the Parliament since Monday’s release of the Expert Panel report had focused almost exclusively on just three of the Expert Panel’s 22 recommendations – those related to re-establishing forced transfers of asylum seekers to Nauru and Manus…